"Nothing."
Black Snake sounded remarkably lazy for someone who had spent the whole day sleeping soundly in the carriage.
Spellcasters had always held high standing among adventurers. It was hardly difficult for them to find channels of information.
Which was why New Star did not believe him for a second:
"Come on, Black Snake. Can't we be honest with each other?
Your team took that treasure-hunting commission and went deep into the Great Desert.
After completing the commission, you chose not to hand the treasure over to your employer. You kept it for yourselves instead.
You even turned on one another over it, and the whole team fell apart.
Everyone knows that much."
"Mm-hmm?"
"So why not tell me what the treasure is, and who has it?
You, the Dwarf, the warlock, the priest—or Markwen, that old ranger?"
New Star leaned down close to his ear.
"It's been three years since you left the adventuring life, so you may not have heard my name.
But that's all right. I can tell you I'm rich. How about I cover Lord Mel's losses for you, keep you out of prison, and give you a residence in Dragon Gold City?
Or if you want something else, name it. I'll do my best to oblige.
All I want to know is what it is, who hid it, and where.
That's all."
Mages were indeed among the adventurers who seldom lacked money.
But there were far too many things in this world that money could not buy.
Power, talent, wondrous items.
Perhaps history's neglect was to blame: most magic items, and even many established methods for making them, had been lost amid ruins and wreckage.
The magic items mages made today were more like ordinary objects with enchantments laid upon them.
That meant even a wondrous item with a unique effect was hardly common.
Things like the Intelligence Headband, which could directly improve a person's abilities, rarely appeared on the market at any price.
Black Snake gave a derisive laugh.
"And what would telling you accomplish? Never mind whether you could get your hands on it. What if you went to all that trouble, only to find you couldn't use it? You'd be crushed."
"That's a treasure left behind in the Great Desert. Why would I keep it for myself?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"A treasure you can't hold on to is nothing but trouble.
As a seasoned adventurer, you should understand that better than I do.
Just look at how it tore your team apart."
New Star waved a hand, as though mocking Black Snake's stupidity.
"If I got hold of a treasure like that, of course I'd offer it to the Wizard Tower in exchange for a place to study there."
"Hold on. Is tuition at the Wizard Tower really that expensive?"
Tang Qi had only heard a little about the Wizard Tower.
Far from the continent, it stood alone at the northern end of the Endless Sea.
It could almost be called the highest seat of learning for spellcasters on the entire continent.
High Circle spells, even ancient forbidden arts and the secrets of crafting magic items, were all monopolized by different parties for various reasons.
And the methods of study, works, and records concerning them were a spellcaster's only path upward—
Of course, someone powerful enough might well create a High Circle spell of their own.
"There are only two ways into the Wizard Tower: sufficient contributions or sufficient talent."
No wonder New Star always lost his composure when he heard news like this.
For a mage, adventuring was the profession with the bleakest prospects.
Mages became adventurers for little reason beyond seeking materials, ancient texts, or treasure...
Becoming a New Star among adventurers was probably part of his effort to reach the Wizard Tower.
Tang Qi, on the other hand, had little interest in it.
Just staring at the symbols and formulas for one cantrip in Kuru's spellbook was enough to make his head spin.
"I only want information. The treasure itself would be a separate deal. Quite a bargain, isn't it?"
New Star was still coaxing him along.
Tang Qi patted Black Snake on the shoulder and fanned the flames.
"That's a steal. If it were me, I'd say yes."
He had no interest in the Wizard Tower, but he was curious about Black Snake's treasure and the story of the Great Desert.
After all, to Tang Qi, a story was a prospect in its own right.
"Nothing."
"Looks like nothing," Tang Qi chimed in.
"If you have other terms, name them." New Star was unwilling to give up.
"You can name them." Tang Qi turned back to Black Snake.
Black Snake shook his head.
Tang Qi shook his head at New Star too.
New Star had had enough. He frowned and pointed at Tang Qi. "Is he your mouthpiece?"
Tang Qi turned back again.
"He wants to know if I'm your mouthpiece."
"I can hear him."
"He says he can hear you."
"Enough, you bastard! Shut up!"
New Star could take no more. He wanted to shove a cork into that chattering mouth.
Tang Qi knew when to stop and leaned closer.
"How about a trade? I ask you a few questions, and he answers a few of yours. What do you say?"
"Who are you?" New Star had barely spared him a glance until now.
"Tang Qi, a formally trained student of the Bard's Song Academy. Our school motto is 'Resolve to become a qualified mouthpiece for the nobility'!"
"The one in the Tyron Empire? I heard you often play for the court and the aristocracy. How did you end up like this?"
The academy was clearly better known than the poet himself.
"If I can't be a noble's mouthpiece, being a plain old mouthpiece is still something to fall back on."
Mages were generally scholars.
And scholars tended to like peace and quiet.
That left New Star with the vexing feeling that he and this bard were natural enemies.
He had no desire to waste more words on the chatterbox. He looked only at Black Snake.
"Does what he says count?"
Black Snake glanced at Tang Qi, then nodded without a word.
Tang Qi wasted no time asking what mattered most to him.
"First, I want to know why you reached the Manor early, then insisted on turning straight back. What exactly happened to you on the way?"
"Happened? Nothing out of the ordinary. The forest paths were hard to travel, we ran into a few walking corpses, and we crossed paths with Goblins raiding in the forest. That's all."
"Your mercenary band had at least twenty armed and equipped people. Trouble like that wouldn't make Explosive Wolf so desperate to hurry."
"First of all, I'm not part of their mercenary band. I'm just working with him, and we're somewhat acquainted. Besides, he's always been impatient."
"But he said you lost people."
"Just a few mercenaries who went out to keep watch around the camp."
New Star did not seem concerned.
"Once you get deep into the forest, the mist turns strange.
It can affect people's minds without them noticing, cause hallucinations, and make them stray from their intended course without realizing it.
Those fools wandered too far. They lost track of the camp's direction for a moment and got lost. What's so surprising about that?"
No wonder people said Twilight Forest was so uncanny, and that parties without a spellcaster often vanished inside it...
So the mist's hallucinations were responsible?
Tang Qi asked another question.
"Then how do you make sure you don't get lost in this forest?"
New Star turned and pointed toward young Master Melard, who was sampling a medium-rare steak back at the camp—
The Construct eyeball on his shoulder floated inside a palm-sized glass bottle, sweeping its gaze through a full circle.
"There are plenty of ways to see through hallucinations. You can rent an artificial life-form that can pierce illusions, for instance.
Of course, ordinary adventurers can't afford to rent a magical creation of this caliber.
Only important people with status and influence in Dragon Gold City have the connections to rent one at a high price.
All right, you've asked enough questions.
Now it's time to answer mine."
New Star did not want to waste another word on Tang Qi.
"What exactly did you find in the Great Desert, and whose hands is it in now? You, shut up. I don't need you repeating my question!"
Tang Qi shrugged and abandoned the idea of parroting him.
Black Snake kept his eyes shut and gave the same answer as always.
"Nothing."
"You're playing me for a fool!?"
New Star's face flushed red. He glared at Tang Qi, furious.
He had never imagined he would be toyed with twice in one day.
Tang Qi blinked and put on an innocent look.
"I'm just a mouthpiece. If he breaks the deal, that has nothing to do with me.
Besides..."
He glanced at Black Snake, who was humming a tune, and spread his hands.
"You weren't expecting a scoundrel to play by the rules, were you?"
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